Marc Chomel – Google

I regret, having just finished the entire set, that very little in this final volume references the atrocities committed by the Germans in the concentration camps. Churchill certainly sees the future of Soviet domination and though there is much information about Poland, Churchill never truly reacts to the Stalinist slaughter of Poles in Russia or to the Warsaw uprising, which Stalin ignored. I found myself at times incredulous that Churchill managed to swallow any serious criticism of Marshall Stalin in the writing of the last two volumes. Where is the “tragedy” if not the annihilation of 6 million Jews?

I wish I could join the rest of you in marveling at this film. Kubrick did some great things- 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. I found this film long and boring and poorly cast: O’Neal is pathetic in the role of the young Irishman. He hardly acts, and CC when he does, you are holding on waiting for him to pronounce the accent properly. Full of beautiful costumes and production design, but I did not feel that Alcott’s photography was all that innovative. This film was a slog. And it’s historical perspective about the seven years’ war is less than accurate.

I found this drama to be interesting and beautifully acted, with some nice cinematography. However, the explanation of the loss of one of the young two friends in the part of the film is a bit difficult to conceive. At their age, the two boys are hardly sexual and being rebuffed by one friend, boy or girl, does not realistically lead to the result that we see. The second part of the film is devoted to the families’ and community’s reaction to this tragedy, but it goes on much too long, with constant cuts to Leo’s hockey playing, before he reveals his “secret” to Remy’s mother-as if she or the rest of us could not have figured it out before then. A poetic film, certainly, but there is no real revelation or truths that are uncovered here.

I really enjoyed this film. McCormack and Thompson have incredible chemistry on screen while addressing questions of sexual intimacy and age. The dialogue is crisp without being pedantic, and witty without being a bland meaningless comedy. Sexual repression is central to the film, and though we would like these characters to step out of their “sessions” and find a lasting friendship, the film avoids such happy Hollywood endings and is entirely realistic, without being overly sentimental. Thompson in an unforgettable moment looks at herself naked in a hotel room mirror. What’s really important is not that she’s aged, but that her sexuality has given her back her life.

Personally, I was expecting more from this film. Though Blanchett inhabits this role like no other actress could, there is little development in the arc of her character as she bulldozes the people around her without a hint of remorse. Her talent as a conductor is unparalleled, but we should have been shown more of her talent as a figurative price we (and others) have to pay to indulge her malignant character aspects. When she is ready to proceed with the final orchestral performance in Germany, she breaks down and fails to deliver. She moves on through the wake of her destructiveness, but we, as an audience, have little compassion for her, and feel somewhat empty of empathy at the end of this film.